Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191411 on Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal, whether she plans to collect data on the potential harms of disposable vapes to animals.

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July to Question 191412 on Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal, if her Department will collect information on the number of wildfires potentially caused by disposable vapes.

Rebecca Pow: My officials are working closely with those in the Department for Health and Social Care, who have published a call for evidence on the impacts of vaping, including on the natural environment. We will publish the findings in due course.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries of 6 July 2023, Official Report, column 921, if she will publish all water company storm overflow plans that she has received in full.

Rebecca Pow: In February 2023, the Secretary of State asked water and sewerage companies to produce an action plan for every storm overflow in England. As a result, I have received all the draft water company plans. Action Plans will be published following a review to ensure there is a standardised level of accuracy and consistency across the plans.

Southern Water: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience of 28 June 2023, Official Report, column 282, and to the Consultation on change of ownership for Southern Water Services Limited, published by Ofwat in August 2022, what steps Ofwat is taking to work with Southern Water on its financial resilience; and if she will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: Ofwat monitors and assesses the financial resilience of each company on an individual and ongoing basis and challenges companies where they identify the need. Each year, in its Monitoring Financial Resilience Report, Ofwat sets out its key messages and observations on financial resilience across the sector. Ofwat has used intervention and regulatory guidance to encourage Southern Water to improve financial resilience and outcomes for customers and the environment.In 2021, Southern Water’s investors injected around £530 million to improve operational performance and support its financial position. Southern Water was also required to prepare a turnaround plan, which sets out how it will improve its overall performance. Progress against the delivery of its plan is being closely monitored by Ofwat. The Environment Act 2021 gave Ofwat improved powers to modify water company licenses without consent from water companies. This has enabled Ofwat to strengthen its existing ring-fence framework and to intervene at an earlier stage where companies are experiencing financial resilience challenges. This allows greater engagement between Ofwat and water companies so that they can seek timely improvements and/or mitigating actions, to better protect water customers.

Chemicals: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will meet a delegation from the chemical recycling industry.

Rebecca Pow: The Secretary of State frequently holds meetings with key stakeholders on recycling. Any meeting requests will be handled in the usual way.

Droughts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to prevent drought (a) nationally and (b) in Yorkshire.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to support investment in rural water infrastructure.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to incentivise water companies to invest in drought mitigation.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) sum and (b) percentage of her Department's spending is committed to drought mitigation.

Rebecca Pow: Defra recently published its Plan for Water setting out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply. The National Framework for water resources sets out in detail how the Government, regulators and regional groups, including water companies, will work together to improve water resources management. This includes reducing demand, halving leakage, developing new water supplies and moving water to where it is needed. Earlier this year, regional water resources groups and water companies including Yorkshire Water consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years and develop drought plans, which outline the actions taken to maintain secure supplies during drought events. In their plans, water companies consider all options, including demand management and water resources infrastructure. The draft water resources management plans contain proposals for multiple new schemes by 2050, including nine new desalination schemes, nine new reservoirs, 11 new water recycling schemes, and several new internal and inter-company transfers to share resources, as well as the expansion of some existing reservoirs. Water companies are also using the £469 million made available by Ofwat in the period 2020-2025, to develop strategic water resources options required to improve the resilience water supplies. In April 2023, Ofwat announced that water companies are bringing forward £2.2 billion for new water infrastructure, starting in the next two years, with £350 million worth of investment in water resilience schemes. The Government also supports the agricultural sector with its Water Management Grant, under the Farming Transformation Fund, for the construction of new on-farm reservoirs and the adoption of best practice irrigation application equipment to help ensure farmers have access to water when they need it most. We aim to launch a third round of the grant next year in 2024.

Pets: Smuggling and Theft

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Animal Welfare Statement on 25 May 2023, what the Government’s timeline and legislative process is for bringing forward measures relating to (a) pet smuggling and (b) pet abduction; and if she will take steps to ensure cats and kittens are included in those proposals.

Trudy Harrison: We will be taking these measures forward individually during the remainder of this Parliament. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way. We have listened carefully to views expressed about extending both measures to cats and we are currently considering this further.

Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to proceed with the Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) Regulations.

Trudy Harrison: We remain committed to introducing a ban on e-collars controlled by hand-held devices that deliver an electric shock to cats or dogs. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.

Recycling: Scotland

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Scottish government on taking steps to align the (a) deposit return scheme and (b) extended producer responsibility scheme across the UK.

Rebecca Pow: The Secretary of State has regular meetings with counterparts in the Devolved Administrations to discuss a range of issues including alignment on the Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers. The Extended Producer Responsibility scheme (EPR) is UK-wide and will be introduced through a single UK-wide Statutory Instrument. Most recently I discussed EPR with the Devolved Administrations on 28 June.

Department of Health and Social Care

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people used the My Planned Care platform (a) in total, (b) to access personalised advice for managing their own health and (c) to choose a different healthcare provider in each of the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dementia: Research

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) funding and (b) initiatives are planned for Northern Ireland under the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

General Practitioners

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP appointments were booked through the NHS app in each of the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Self-harm: Children

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pupils were involved in self-harm incidents in each of the two years (a) before and (b) after the introduction of relationships, sex and health education in schools.

Maria Caulfield: The requested data is not available as health service datasets in England do not record whether a person is a school pupil.

Medicine: Research

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the debate of 4 July on Human-specific medical research techniques, Official Report columns 293WH to 304WH, what assessment he has made of the capability of the UK’s regulatory system to support the (a) development and (b) use of human-specific technologies in medical research.

Will Quince: As the regulator of medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps abreast of advances in human-specific technologies in medical research that are relevant to the development of medicines and medical devices. The MHRA is aware of human-specific techniques, such as organ-on-chip technologies used to better identify potential toxicity of novel medicines, and has engaged with other organisations active in this space such as the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research who have hosted meetings on this theme. The MHRA has also provided scientific advice on the use of this technology to support proof of concept for a new medicine. That said, the MHRA does not identify those with whom it may have had discussions who are active commercially in this space.In relation to human-specific technologies, some medicines have been developed which only have activity in humans, such as eculizumab (Soliris), tebentafusp (Kimmtrak) or CAR T cell products (for instance, Kymriah, Yescarta and Tecartus). These medicines were developed using human specific methods, however, versions of these medicines that were active in animals were, in some cases, also used. The MHRA supports the developers of these products by its offer of scientific advice services, the Innovation Office and the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to provide people affected by cardiac arrest with ongoing and personalised support.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide people who have survived cardiac arrest with an individualised rehabilitation plan.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to develop a formal care pathway for cardiac arrest survivors.

Will Quince: Improving access to cardiac rehabilitation is a priority of the NHS Long Term Plan. In 2023/24, NHS England will provide funding to improve access to cardiac rehabilitation services, including the provision of different modes of delivery to enable individual post-cardiac arrest rehabilitation plans. In addition, all patients in England with heart disease will be better supported by multi-disciplinary teams as part of primary care networks.NHS England are working to support patients with heart failure in the community through the roll-out of NHS Managing Heart Failure @home. This scheme aims to support people living with heart failure to self-manage in their own home through patient education and remote monitoring.Cardiac arrest survivors will require different pathways depending on the severity of the damage caused by the cardiac arrest. Patients discharged from secondary care will receive cardiac rehabilitation services which are available in every region. For more severe cases of cardiac arrest there are Level 1 & 2 specialist inpatient rehabilitation services. NHS England are committed to improving these services and are working with charities and other bodies to further develop these rehabilitation pathways for patients.

Drugs: Licensing

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access and (b) the introduction of the severity modifier on decisions of companies to launch medicines in the UK.

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will monitor the impact of the severity modifier on access to new end of life cancer medicines.

Will Quince: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend the vast majority of cancer medicines it appraises and its approval rate for cancer medicines has consistently been around 90%. NICE concluded a comprehensive review of its methods in January 2022 and has introduced a number of changes that will make its processes fairer and faster, and ensure they provide more equitable access for those with severe diseases. This includes a broader severity modifier to replace the end of life modifier. Analysis carried out by NICE in the development of the modifier indicates that the vast majority of cancer medicines that would be eligible for the end of life modifier would also be eligible for a weighting under the severity modifier. NICE recently reviewed the topics appraised using its new methods and found that of the seven pieces of final guidance published up until December 2022, all seven make positive recommendations. NICE also found that the severity modifier supported a positive recommendation where it was accepted, and plans to further review the implementation of its methods towards the end of 2023.New innovative medicines do not pay the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) rebate rate for the first three years after marketing authorisation. The National Health Service is a unique proposition for global life sciences companies. With a single commercial deal, a company can have access to a market of over 55 million people. A recent report from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America found that between 2012 and 2021, the United Kingdom was consistently in the top three G20 countries for availability and speed of access to new medicines.

Arthritis

Sir Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the report by Versus Arthritis entitled the State Of Musculoskeletal Health 2023 that there are over 10 million people living with arthritis in the UK.

Will Quince: Musculoskeletal conditions, which include arthritis, is one of the group of conditions included in the Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will aim to identify actions in the areas of prevention, treatment and long-term management of care to improve outcomes for individuals across the six major condition groups.To inform the development of the strategy and to ensure a wide range of experiences are considered, the Department has launched a call for evidence to seek wider views and ideas from the public and organisations including Versus Arthritis.

Antibiotics: Prescriptions

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has undertaken research on the impact on patient illness of antibiotic courses prescribed by GPs for (a) five and (b) seven days.

Will Quince: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has funded several studies on the impact of duration of antibiotic courses on patient illness, as well as antimicrobial resistance.For example, in 2022 we funded the Cellulitis Optimal Antibiotic Treatment (COAT) study investigating whether a short course (five days) of flucloxacillin was non-inferior to a standard course (seven days) in terms of pain over days six to 14, in patients with leg cellulitis in primary care.

Musculoskeletal Disorders: Health Services

Sir Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what services will be offered through local musculoskeletal health hubs.

Will Quince: We are working with partners to define and scale up musculoskeletal (MSK) hubs in the community. This includes expanding access to community-based physical activity interventions and testing vocational support to help people with MSK conditions to manage their condition and remain in or return to work.

Bootham Park Hospital and NHS Property Services: Key Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will discuss the potential development of key worker housing for NHS staff at Bootham Park hospital with NHS Property Services.

Will Quince: The current assessment of NHS Property Services (NHSPS) is that the costs of upgrading this property for any form of staff residential or clinical use would be extremely significant. NHSPS is therefore focussed on the sale of the property with the associated planning permission to realise a receipt which can be reinvested in the National Health Service estate, to an organisation that is able to fund the level of investment required for this heritage asset going forwards.

Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders: Medical Treatments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help increase (a) public and (b) private research into treatments for (i) arthritis and (ii) musculoskeletal conditions.

Will Quince: The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has awarded more than £100 million in funding and support for musculoskeletal conditions and arthritis research in the last five years.The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including research into musculoskeletal conditions and arthritis. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Therefore, future spend on arthritis and musculoskeletal research is undetermined.In 2021/22 alone, NIHR infrastructure has supported over 900 studies and trials into musculoskeletal conditions. Six of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) have musculoskeletal disorders as a research theme. For example, the Leeds BRC aims to improve treatment for osteoarthritis and to prevent disease and disability in immune-mediated diseases; this includes a work stream on non-surgical treatments for osteoarthritis. NIHR, in collaboration with Versus Arthritis, also funds a dedicated UK Musculoskeletal Translational Research Collaboration (UK MSK TRC). The UK MSK TRC aligns investment in musculoskeletal translational research, creating a United Kingdom-wide ambition and focus to drive cutting-edge translational research, in order to improve outcomes for patients.

Heart Diseases: Medical Equipment

Jack Brereton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to implantable cardiac monitors in (a) England and (b) Stoke-on-Trent South constituency.

Jack Brereton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to roll out the implantable cardiac monitoring commissioning system used in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to other Integrated Care Boards in England.

Jack Brereton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to use implantable cardiac monitoring for secondary stroke prevention in the NHS.

Will Quince: Implantable cardiac monitors are used successfully by patients across England and within the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance in September 2020 on the use of implantable cardiac monitors. National Health Service trusts are currently using such devices in stroke prevention throughout England. It is for local integrated care systems to determine the appropriate cardiac monitoring devices for their populations’ commissioners.

Restless Legs Sydrome

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of (a) restless leg syndrome and (b) periodic leg movement disorder have been diagnosed in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: Information specific to restless leg syndrome and periodic leg movement disorder is not collected centrally. Whilst information is collected, on specified extrapyramidal and movement disorders, which would include restless leg syndrome and periodic leg movement disorder, that data is not limited to these conditions and, therefore, would be an overcount.

Ambulance Services: Driver Information Systems

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with ambulance trusts on ensuring that new build residential properties appear on the navigation software used by ambulance crews.

Will Quince: No such discussions have taken place.All ambulance services use Ordnance Survey (OS) maps for their mapping and address systems. OS maps are updated with new addresses as they are registered and made available to ambulance services for download every six weeks.

NHS: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on childcare provision for NHS staff.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care engaged extensively with the Department of Education on a range of issues on the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP).The LTWP sets out the importance of supporting staff to access childcare by making use of the changes announced in the Spring Budget 2023 that extended childcare support to working parents over the next three years. The intention set out in the 2023 Budget will dramatically increase the availability of childcare, reduce costs and increase access to it.The plan also recognises the high proportion of women in the workforce that are likely to have parental/caring responsibilities and sets out the importance of developing an approach to embed a culture of flexible working to support the National Health Service workforce.

Ovarian Cancer: Finance and Research

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase (a) funding and (b) research into ovarian cancer treatment, in the context of the closure of the National Cancer Research Institute.

Will Quince: The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) worked for over 22 years to bring together the cancer research community and connect researchers. The decision to close was made by the NCRI trustees and is not the result of Government funding or any other decisions.As the landscape evolves, we will continue to work with the research community and funders across the ecosystem to deliver research that meets the needs of patients and the public. However, we do not expect the closure of NCRI to significantly impact National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding of ovarian cancer research.The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ovarian cancer research. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Dementia: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives from the pharmaceutical industry on new drugs for dementia care.

Will Quince: The Government regularly engages with industry leaders and companies bringing new medicines and technologies to market in high priority clinical areas, including dementia. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England will liaise with individual companies as potential new medicines for the treatment of dementia are considered through the established licensing and appraisal processes. The Government encourages companies to engage constructively in the established processes to support patient access to safe and effective new medicines in a way that represents value to the National Health Service.

Brain Cancer: Research

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £40 million allocated in 2018 for brain tumour research over five years has been disbursed to fund that research as of July 2023; and when he plans to allocate the remaining funds.

Will Quince: The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since the 2018 announcement, NIHR has committed £10.7 million spend across 13 brain tumour research studies. All applications to NIHR that have been assessed as “fundable” in open competition have been funded, and this will continue.Additionally, NIHR research infrastructure supports brain tumour research studies, mainly in the NHS. This infrastructure – people and facilities – is instrumental to the delivery of research funded by the NIHR, charities and others. Resource costs are significant, though it is difficult to disaggregate purely brain tumour spending to add to the £10.7 million figure above.The Government is committed to funding high-quality brain cancer research, and we expect to spend more as new research progresses. The £40 million funding announcement will remain available, and if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do so.

Medical Records

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people accessed their own patient records through the NHS app in each of the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The latest statistics for the number of NHS App users who accessed their own primary care records through the NHS App in each of the following 12 months up to May 2023 are as follows:Month Total Number of App UsersJune 2022 4,876,826July 2022 4,805,862August 2022 4,914,399September 2022 5,025,642October 2022 6,021,545November 2022 5,760,229December 2022 4,791,390January 2023 6,085,907February 2033 5,860,341March 2023 7,020,045April 2023 6,353,840May 2023 7,001,869

Thromboembolism

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to restore mandatory reporting of venous thromboembolism risk assessment rates for all patients being admitted to hospital; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the ending of such mandatory reporting on (a) rates of death from hospital-acquired thrombosis and (b) individual trust compliance with NHS England standards on thrombosis prevention.

Will Quince: NHS England are actively reviewing how best to monitor and support venous thromboembolism prevention practices at a national level, working with key stakeholders including Thrombosis UK. This includes considering whether to implement a new data collection related to venous thromboembolism risk assessment and prevention.

Arthritis: Health Services

Sir Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2023 to Question 172437 on Health Services: Waiting Lists, whether his Department has plans to work with (a) Versus Arthritis and (b) other charities on creating personalised preparation plans for patients.

Will Quince: Ministers regularly engage with stakeholders, including Versus Arthritis, on a range of issues. There was a Ministerial meeting with Versus Arthritis on 18 January 2023 to discuss trauma and orthopaedic waiting lists.

Health Services: Postal Services

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Chief Operation Officer of Royal Mail about the impact on patients of Royal Mail delivery delays in (a) Brighton Pavilion constituency and (b) other areas experiencing delays in delivery of letters that include details of NHS appointments; what steps he is taking to ensure that patients receive timely information about their appointments; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: No discussions are currently planned with the Chief Operating Officer of Royal Mail about the impact on patients of Royal Mail delivery delays, including within the Brighton Pavilion constituency.NHS England sends communications and invitations to patients using a ‘digital first’ approach for environmental reasons and to efficiently reduce costs. If an individual has provided a mobile phone number and email address via their general practice, NHS England will, in the first instance, send most invitations for appointments via SMS and email.Letters are typically sent to patients when NHS England does not have alternative contact details on record, such as a phone number or email address. This ensures all patients receive notification of an appointment, including elderly and other vulnerable patients where a digital first approach may not be possible or appropriate. Letters may also be sent occasionally as reminders.

Ambulance Services: Staff

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age profile is for ambulance staff working in the NHS broken down by (a) occupation group and (b) each year since 2010.

Will Quince: The age profile for professionally qualified clinical ambulance staff and for support to ambulance staff working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England is published quarterly by NHS England as part of their NHS Workforce Statistics collection. The latest data can be found at the following link:https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.digital.nhs.uk%2FE4%2F65148E%2FEquality%2520and%2520diversity%2520in%2520NHS%2520Trusts%2520and%2520core%2520orgs%2520March%25202023.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Mental Health Services

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to increase the (a) recruitment to and (b) retention of healthcare professionals in the NHS in June 2023.

Will Quince: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the NHS People Plan and the NHS People Promise set out a comprehensive range of actions to improve staff retention. They provide a strong focus on creating a more modern, compassionate and inclusive National Health Service culture by strengthening health and wellbeing, equality and diversity, culture and leadership and flexible working. In addition, the NHS Retention Programme is continuously seeking to understand why staff leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well. Specifically, June 2023 saw a number of actions to improve recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals in the NHS. NHS England held several events, including: seven regional communities of practice workshops to support recruitment and retention of early career nurses, midwives and Allied Health Professionals; an event focused on international recruits; and a series of roundtables with representatives from the 23 retention exemplar trusts, which are working to implement the People Promise. These events focused on sharing best practice on strategies to improve recruitment and retention and supporting staff in career development.Additionally, NHS England launched the ‘Retaining doctors in late-stage career guidance’ in collaboration with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/retaining-doctors-in-late-stage-career-guidance/

Ophthalmology: Vacancies

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the shortage of ophthalmologists in the NHS.

Neil O'Brien: The Government recognises that there are workforce capacity challenges facing ophthalmology services, which is why we have increased training places in 2022, with further places planned for 2023. This sits alongside action being taken to train existing ophthalmology staff so they are able to work to the top of their clinical license.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion to fund additional education and training places over the next five years, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. This is a high-level plan to support the NHS workforce as a whole, covering doctors, nurses, and other key health professions. The plan sets out how the primary eye care workforce could deliver more eye care services in the community to help build capacity.

Water Treatment: Fluoride

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential environmental impact of plans to start fluoridation from the Williamsgate treatment works on waterways in West Cumbria.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made.

Water Treatment: Fluoride

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to begin the public consultation on a fluoridation scheme for the Williamsgate treatment works.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current plans to consult on a fluoridation scheme for the Williamsgate treatment works.

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) resources available to and (b) capacity of the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation to manage (i) current and (ii) future public health needs.

Maria Caulfield: Suggested replyThe Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) meet regularly to consider both current and future public health needs and provide advice to Ministers accordingly. The Department of Health and Social Care and UK Health Security Agency remain attentive to any changes to JCVI's capacity and resource needs.

Mental Health Services: Wirral South

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of mental health specialists in Wirral South constituency in June 2023.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS has published a Long Term Workforce Plan which outlines the steps the Government has taken to support the recruitment and retention of mental health specialists, including in Wirral South.

Department of Health and Social Care: Surveillance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on 24 November 2022 on Security Update on Surveillance Equipment, WMS 386, whether they have (a) ceased deployment of visual surveillance systems produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China onto sensitive sites, (b) ensured no such equipment is connected to departmental core network, (c) considered whether there are sites outside the definition of sensitive sites to which they would wish to extend risk mitigation and (d) put in place any additional controls or taken any further steps.

Will Quince: On 24 November 2022, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster published a Written Ministerial Statement noting that departments had been instructed to take a series of actions relating to surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. This Department has been implementing this policy along with other protective security controls.At Report Stage of the Procurement Bill, the Government committed that, within six months of Royal Assent, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. This Department will be providing information to the Cabinet Office to support this commitment. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding Government estates are withheld on security grounds.

What Works Centre for Wellbeing

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech at the Centre for Policy Studies on 27 June 2023, what plans he has for future healthcare-related funding for the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care does not have a live funding agreement with the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has committed £118,484 of the 2023-24 tackling loneliness budget to the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, for ongoing delivery of the Tackling Loneliness Hub and research, exploring what works to tackle loneliness.

Gender Dysphoria: Health Services

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce NHS waiting times for gender-affirming procedures.

Maria Caulfield: To address long waiting times for gender-affirming procedures, NHS England are taking steps to grow the historically small pool of specialist clinicians working in this field. The United Kingdom’s first accredited post-graduate training credential in gender medicine overseen by the Royal College of Physicians was established in 2020. There is also funding for individual fellowships available for surgeons who want to train in gender reassignment surgery. The first fellowship has commenced at St George’s Hospital.NHS England also awarded a contract to New Victoria Hospital in London to provide masculinising gender surgery in 2021. NHS England are also asking all providers to support the National Health Service in current and future workforce development and training to ensure they sustain future surgical capacity.NHS England have also developed a new delivery model based in primary care services. Four new pilot schemes have been opened under this model based in London, Cheshire and Merseyside, Greater Manchester and the East of England. A further clinic in Sussex is planned to open in 2023. In March 2023 the London clinic received a new seven-year contract and further funding to expand its services after initially being positively evaluated.

Gender Dysphoria: Health Services

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of NHS waiting times for gender-affirming procedures on transgender patients.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made.

Abortion: Emergency Calls

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of emergency calls from women undergoing home abortions; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: No assessment has been made.

Abortion

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the legal time limit for abortions.

Maria Caulfield: No assessment has been made. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance. Any change to the law in this area would be a matter of conscience for individual Parliamentarians rather than for the Government.

Radiotherapy

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts provide molecular radiotherapy services.

Will Quince: There are 38 National Health Service trusts commissioned to deliver the services set out within the national Molecular Radiotherapy and Brachytherapy Service Specification in England. However, given the spectrum of treatments available under this service specification, there is some variation in what each provider offers.

Life Sciences

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has contingency plans for the life sciences industry should negotiations on the new Voluntary Scheme for branded medicines pricing and access not be concluded.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of not setting the basic price rate for the next Voluntary Scheme for branded medicines pricing and access at the same rate as for 2022-23.

Will Quince: The Government is firmly committed to driving growth and investment in the Life Sciences sector while helping to get innovative drugs and medicines to National Health Service patients faster, including through the delivery of the Life Sciences Vision.The current voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) finishes at the end of this year. Negotiations on a successor scheme began in May and aim to conclude later this year to take effect from January 2024. We are open to ideas about how a successor VPAS should operate from 2024 onwards and look forward to working with industry to agree a mutually beneficial scheme that supports better patient outcomes, ensures the sustainability of NHS spend on branded medicines and enables a strong United Kingdom life sciences industry. We cannot comment on ongoing commercially sensitive negotiations.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that all survivors of cardiac arrest can access appropriate, ongoing, personalised support.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that survivors of cardiac arrest can access an individual post-cardiac arrest rehabilitation plan.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to develop a care pathway for cardiac arrest survivors.

Will Quince: Improving access to cardiac rehabilitation is a priority of the NHS Long Term Plan. In 2023/24 NHS England will provide funding to improve access to cardiac rehabilitation services, including the provision of different modes of delivery to enable individual post-cardiac arrest rehabilitation plans. In addition, all patients in England with heart disease will be better supported by multi-disciplinary teams as part of primary care networks. NHS England are working to support patients with heart failure in the community through the roll-out of the NHS Managing Heart Failure @home. This scheme aims to support people living with heart failure to self-manage in their own home through patient education and remote monitoring. Cardiac arrest survivors will require different pathways depending on the severity of the damage caused by the cardiac arrest. Patients discharged from secondary care will receive cardiac rehabilitation services which are available in every region. For more severe cases of cardiac arrest there are Level 1 & 2 specialist inpatient rehabilitation services. NHS England are committed to improving these services and are working with charities and other bodies to further develop these rehabilitation pathways for patients.

Strokes: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve aftercare for stroke patients.

Will Quince: On 24 November 2022, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster published a Written Ministerial Statement noting that departments had been instructed to take a series of actions relating to surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. This Department has been implementing this policy along with other protective security controls.At Report Stage of the Procurement Bill, the Government committed that, within six months of Royal Assent, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. This Department will be providing information to the Cabinet Office to support this commitment. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding Government estates are withheld on security grounds.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect on productivity of NHS waiting times in A&amp;E.

Will Quince: My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, holds regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the work to improve accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times, including at health stocktakes.The Government’s aim is to make it easier for people to access a range of urgent care services and avoid needing to make unnecessary visits to A&E departments. When people do need to attend A&E, our aim is that this care is provide more quickly, with 76% of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours by March 2024.

Arthritis: Health Services

Sir Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2023 to Question 172437 on Health Services: Waiting Lists, what personalised perioperative care plans for patients with arthritis will consist of.

Will Quince: From April 2023, providers are being asked to establish Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams. These are multidisciplinary teams who will assess health needs to proactively inform pre- and post-operative care and identify surgical risk factors in order to reduce the chance of cancellations and to improve patient outcomes.Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams will work with patients to develop personalised preparation plans. These plans will detail both the clinical and the wider support needs of patients both leading up to the time of surgery and in the post-surgical period.The teams will be able to refer people for specialist secondary care input where required and, in conjunction with social prescribing link workers, to connect people to the most appropriate community support for them.

Insomnia: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of prescribing melatonin gummies for sleep disorders in children.

Will Quince: There currently are no melatonin gummy products licensed in the United Kingdom. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will review and advise on the benefits and risks for a given medicine when marketing authorisation applications are received for specific products with the appropriate clinical data. Currently there are no products submitted and since the MHRA’s remit does not extend to soliciting such applications, it cannot make an assessment of the potential merits of prescribing melatonin gummies for sleep disorders in children.

Insomnia: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether melatonin gummies have been prescribed for children on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: There currently are no melatonin gummy products licensed in the United Kingdom. Therefore, there will be no prescribing of these products for children reimbursable by the National Health Service. That said, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is reviewing the reclassification of products where melatonin may feature as a section of the Primary Care Recovery Plan.

Insomnia: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether melatonin gummies are licensed for use on the NHS.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the MHRA on the potential use of melatonin gummies by the NHS.

Will Quince: There are no melatonin gummy products licensed in the United Kingdom. Therefore, there is currently no prescribing of these products reimbursable by the National Health Service. While no recent discussions between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on the potential use of melatonin gummies by the NHS have occurred, the MHRA are looking at the reclassification of the products where melatonin may feature as a section of the Primary Care Recovery Plan.

Out-patients: Telemedicine

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many virtual outpatient appointments were held in each month since March 2022.

Will Quince: The information requested is displayed in the following table:Month Total virtual outpatient appointmentsFebruary 2022 1,613,780March 2022 1,818,257April 2022 1,515,780May 2022 1,701,990June 2022 1,565,736July 2022 1,521,648August 2022 1,517,706September 2022 1,527,588October 2022 1,513,178November 2022 1,649,166December 2022 1,367,302January 2023 1,562,606February 2023 1,454,660March 2023 1,604,840 TARGET DATE 13/07/2023In 2021/22, the most recent year for which data is published, 21.9 million virtual outpatient appointments were attended.To support elective recovery, we are working with NHS England to deliver on a number of outpatient transformation targets by March 2024, including delivering 25% of all outpatient appointments remotely.

NHS: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities about key worker housing for NHS staff.

Will Quince: We recognise the importance of ensuring that high-quality, affordable accommodation is available to National Health Service staff. We are working closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to explore how we can best support NHS trusts to deliver key worker accommodation where it is needed. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Markham) will lead a joint taskforce with the Minister of State for Housing and Planning (Rachel Maclean MP) to work through the barriers identified in a recently published paper on key worker accommodation by the NHS Homes Alliance, and to support the NHS to streamline delivery.Local organisations are ultimately responsible for determining the appropriate use of NHS estate, including for key worker accommodation. NHS staff also have access to the national First Homes scheme, established in 2021, which enables key workers to purchase homes at a discount to the market value on new housing sites, paid for by developer contributions

Neurology: Health Services

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting list time was for (a) neurology services and (b) neurosurgery in Stockport constituency in each year from2012.

Will Quince: Data has not been routinely collected in the format requested.

Patients: Information

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will undertake a review of the proportion of patients with communication needs who can access their health information in a format suitable to their personal needs.

Neil O'Brien: There are no plans to undertake such a review. Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations are required to comply with the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.The standard sets out that NHS organisations must ask people if they have any information or communication needs and take steps to ensure that people receive information which they can access and understand and receive communication support if they need it.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Parks: Emergency Services

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure that all public parks are made accessible to emergency vehicles.

Lee Rowley: Local authorities are responsible for public parks and spaces under their ownership. I would encourage local authorities to work with the emergency services to ensure access to emergency vehicles.

Holiday Accommodation: Business Rates

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing small business rate relief for furnished holiday lets.

Lee Rowley: From April 2023 in order to be assessed for business rates a holiday let property must demonstrate at least 70 days of actual letting activity, and have been available for let for at least 140 days, in the previous year.Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury.

Independent Review into Civil Unrest in Leicester

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Lord Austin's leadership of the independent review launched into civil unrest in Leicester.

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reasons he appointed Lord Austin to be the Chair of the independent review launched into civil unrest in Leicester.

Lee Rowley: This government is committed to protecting all communities and will not tolerate attempts to foster division or violence among them.Lord Austin was asked to deliver an independent, in-depth analysis of both Leicester-specific issues and wider factors which may have contributed to or exacerbated the recent tensions. The Review will seek to understand the origins of the unrest and how we can reduce the chances of similar events in the future.Lord Austin has a long history of working against racism, prejudice and extremism and in trying to bring people together and build stronger and more united communities. His appointment is as chair of a panel of independent reviewers, consisting of a mixture of experts with experience in community engagement, social cohesion and counter extremism. I am confident this work will result in a rigorous, impartial, data-based assessment of the issues, which places significant importance on representing all sides throughout.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Carbon Emissions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will publish a carbon budget to show how it is delivering the Government's net zero objectives.

Lee Rowley: DLUHC will continue to work on the delivery of the Government's Carbon Budget Delivery Plan.

Help to Buy Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2023 to Question 190575, what is the cost to the public purse of the contract given to Lenvi to administer the service provision for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to manage the transfer of the service provision for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme from Target to Lenvi.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what metrics his Department plans to use to measure the (a) value for money and (b) service provision of Lenvi in administrating the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the service provided by Lenvi to individuals enquiring about Help to Buy Equity Loans.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps she has taken to decrease the waiting time for individuals contacting Lenvi regarding Help to Buy Equity Loans.

Rachel Maclean: The contract with Lenvi was awarded following a rigorous procurement process. It is a concession contract, so the equity loan administrator's costs are met through fees charged to customers with an equity loan.Homes England established a project team to manage the process, with a programme of testing before migration of customer data and the service launching on 19 June. Following the migration and launch, the service has been subject to high volumes of customer calls and emails, and this has led to delays for some customers. We are working to address this.Several steps have been taken in response. This includes increasing staff working hours, ensuring urgent cases are prioritised and escalated, encouraging customers to use email instead of phoning wherever possible and targeted communications channels to keep customers informed.The department receives daily updates and regularly monitors the service recovery plan and a number of actions have been taken to improve the service.

Social Rented Housing: Childminding

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of (a) local authorities and (b) other registered social landlords that prohibit residents from operating as a childminder in their home.

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will bring forward proposals to permit childminding businesses to be run from social rented properties.

Rachel Maclean: The department does not hold this data. Social tenants are not prevented from running a business from their home under current housing legislation, but some tenancy agreements may include terms preventing them from doing so. We would expect landlords not to withhold permission unreasonably.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making thank you payments to those families who opened their homes to Ukrainians through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Felicity Buchan: Sponsors receive an optional ‘thank you’ payment of £350 for the first 12 months from the date that a guest first arrived in the UK, and £500 from 12 months thereafter. Further information about thank you payments can be accessed here.

Housing: Tenure

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to determine property tenure types when allocating sites for housing development.

Rachel Maclean: The National Planning Policy Framework already sets out that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community and reflect this in planning policies, including through their site allocations.

Housing: Construction

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to help ensure that public funding for house building prioritises housing to meet local need.

Rachel Maclean: We have consistently delivered a range of ambitious interventions to boost housebuilding and help meet local needs.

Housing: Construction

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to expedite the delivery of housing on sites identified for development by Homes England.

Rachel Maclean: Homes England, as the Government's Housing and Regeneration Agency, play a key role in delivering housing that works for all through the utilisation of a variety of tools and interventions.

Affordable Housing: Key Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on developing affordable housing for key workers.

Rachel Maclean: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 142760 on 23 February 2023.

Regional Planning and Development: Cockenzie and Port Seton

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has for the site of the former Cockenzie Power Station, the context of levelling-up funding.

Dehenna Davison: The second round of the Levelling Up Fund awarded £11,267,841 to East Lothian Council for the project 'Former Cockenzie Power Station Site Remediation and Preparation Works'.

Regional Planning and Development: Local Government

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has for further levelling-up funding for local authorities.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how levelling up funding will be allocated over the next two years.

Dehenna Davison: We have already announced over £10 billion of funding through our levelling up funds and are working to support local authorities to ensure their projects and investment plans meet local needs. The Government has now published a plan for simplifying and streamlining the funding landscape, which will help local stakeholders navigate future funding opportunities.   To ensure future funding meets the needs of local communities, we are currently reflecting on the lessons learned from the first two rounds of the Levelling Up Fund, to help inform the design of round 3.

Fire Prevention: Staff

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many chartered fire engineers there are.

Lee Rowley: The information requested is not held centrally.

Cabinet Office

Veterans: Homelessness

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the grants awarded under the Reducing Veterans Homelessness programme in 2023-24, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to the Launchpad Organisation will be spent on each of the four areas.

Johnny Mercer: As part of this Government’s drive to end veterans homelessness this year, Launchpad received over £800,000 through the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme to deliver addiction and mental health psychotherapy, intensive training and employment support to veterans. Whilst a geographical breakdown of spend is not yet available, the Programme is expected to go live in September, and will report over the following months.

Special Advisers: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, October 2013, published on 25 October 2013, how much of the total pay bill for special advisers in the 2012-13 period was made up of severance payments.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Special Advisers: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, November 2014, published on 18 December 2014, how much of the £8.4 million pay bill for special advisers was made up of severance payments in the 2013-14 financial year.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Special Advisers: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled list of special advisers in post as at 21 December 2016, published 21 December 2016, what amount of the (a) pay bill and (b) severance payments was spent in the 2015-16 financial year.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Special Advisers: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Annual Report on Special Advisers 2018, published on 19 December 2018, what was the cost of severance payments made to special advisers in the 2018-19 financial year.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Special Advisers: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 4 of the Annual Report on Special Advisers 2020, published on 15 December 2020, how much of the £2.7 million in severance payments paid to special advisers between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 was repaid by individuals who were reappointed after the election.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Land: Public Sector

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to co-ordinate the use of public land for development.

Alex Burghart: The Office of Government Property coordinates the development of public land through the One Public Estate (OPE) programme. This drives efficiencies by supporting opportunities for co-location, disposals, relocations, land assembly and multi-portfolio collaboration. OPE has recently been extended to include the Place Pilot initiative which brings together central and local government partners to review future estate needs and opportunities.To date it has supported over 800 projects, spanning 98 per cent of English councils, helping transform local communities and public services right across the country. OPE partnerships have delivered 37,332 jobs, releasing land for 37,733 new homes, raising £593 million in capital receipts and cutting running costs by £119 million.In addition, OPE delivers the £180m Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 (BLRF2) in conjunction with DLUHC. This awards funding to Local Authorities across England for land remediation of local authority owned brownfield sites ready for housing.

Department for Education

Electrification: Skilled Workers

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of people expected to take part in the emerging skills electrification project in 2023.

Robert Halfon: The Skills Electrification Project was part of the Emerging Skills Projects, which were pilot projects funded by the department to identify future skills needs and develop high-quality modular courses to help address future skills gaps in key sectors. The Skills Electrification Project, as well as the other Emerging Skills Projects, were out to tender in 2021 and were developed and run by the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. The projects completed at the end of March 2022. Training material and modules are still available on the High Value manufacturing Catapult’s website, which can be found at: https://emergingskillsproject.com/electrification-units/.

Teachers: Recruitment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the annual cost to the public purse of offering cash incentives to recruit foreign teachers.

Nick Gibb: For the 2023/24 academic year, the Department is piloting an international relocation payment (IRP), which is a single one-off payment of £10,000. This will be available to non UK trainees and teachers of languages and physics. It is only paid to teachers after they have taken up their teaching post in England.The Department has not yet opened applications for the scheme. Our modelling suggests the cost to deliver the IRP for the 2023/24 academic year to teachers directly entering the workforce will be approximately £1.3 million.

Teachers: Migrant Workers

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of foreign teachers that have been recruited to teach in schools in England in the last 12 months; and for what subjects they have been recruited.

Nick Gibb: Information on the nationality or country of origin of staff is not collected centrally.Information on the school workforce in England, including teacher characteristics and subjects taught in secondary schools, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

Home Office

Public Order Act 2023

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to section 35(5) of the Public Order Act 2023, when she plans to bring forward regulations to bring the Act into force.

Chris Philp: A range of measures, including the new offences related to locking on and interfering with key national infrastructure, came into force by statutory instrument on 3 May 2023. On 2 July 2023, other measures, including the new offences related to tunnelling and obstruction of major transport works, came into force, along with the section which clarifies that police cannot use their powers solely to prevent individuals from observing or reporting on a protest.The timescales for commencing the remaining measures in the Public Order Act 2023 will be confirmed in due course.

Asylum: MOD Wethersfield

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what detailed (a) health and (b) security checks and screening processes will be in place before persons are located to the Wethersfield site.

Robert Jenrick: Those arriving in small boats are first taken to facilities in Dover where searches and medical checks are undertaken.Full border security checks are later completed at Manston before anyone leaves the site. We capture biometric data which is checked and compared against relevant Home Office systems and police databases, including international databases, so we can establish whether the person is a threat to public safety. If they fail, nobody proceeds further.At Manston, all asylum seekers are offered diphtheria vaccines and antibiotics upon arrival. The Home Office provides 24/7 health facilities at Manston, including trained medical staff and a doctor for all those on site. All asylum seekers undergo a health check upon arrival and, if needed, people are taken to hospital for further care.A specialist and experienced security provider will be working on site 24/7, with provisions such as mobile CCTV units. We have worked closely with local police forces and MoD teams to ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place.The Home Office has committed substantial funding to help minimise the impact on local communities and services. This includes 24/7 security, on-site catering, basic healthcare and transport provision for those accommodated on site. The government currently provides £3,500 to local authorities for new and occupied dispersal beds. This £3,500 funding for local authorities will be extended to the sites at Wethersfield. The safety and security of the local communities, the staff and those accommodated on the site are of the utmost importance.

Asylum: Leith

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) estimated cost and (b) suitability of accommodating asylum seekers on the MS Victoria cruise ship in Leith.

Robert Jenrick: Cost information is prospective and commercially sensitive, and as such is not available to be released. Our proposal was to use the same berth, the same quayside infrastructure and the same principal contractor that was put in place by Scottish Government officials. Furthermore, this is the same vessel used by the Scottish Government. The Home Office also proposed introducing new financial incentives for local authorities to encourage the uptake of dispersal accommodation and delivering large accommodation sites that will produce safe and secure accommodation for thousands of asylum seekers.The Home Office met with representatives of Scottish government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on several occasions in May to discuss the possibility of placing a vessel in Leith to accommodate asylum seekers.The last Multi-Agency Forums (MAF) were held on the 22nd June. We are committed to work closely with all local authorities and stakeholders through MAF meetings to address any concerns of the local community and reduce the impact on local services. If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan nationals are eligible for relocation in the UK under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan citizens resettlement scheme applications were (a) received and (b) processed with a decision of eligibility between April 2021 and July 2023; and how many applications are awaiting an initial eligibility decision.

Robert Jenrick: The latest Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab) (published on 25 May 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the ACRS and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people. The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will see up to 20,000 eligible individuals from Afghanistan and the region resettled to the UK over the coming years. There is no application process for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Instead, those who are eligible will be prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK through one of the scheme’s three referral pathways. Further information on the ACRS can be found on the gov.uk website at:Afghan citizens resettlement scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Refugees: Afghanistan

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been resettled in the UK under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme Pathway 2.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan nationals have been resettled in the UK under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme Pathway 3.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees were living in bridging hotels in July 2023.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is for Afghan refugees to be held in bridging hotels in the UK before being permanently resettled.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan.The latest Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), published on 25 May 2023, shows that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people. As of 25 May 2023, we were providing temporary accommodation for around 8,799 individuals resettled in the UK under the ARAP or ACRS, whilst they await permanent accommodation. More information on those that we are temporarily accommodating in hotels can be viewed at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)It is not accurate to describe Afghan families as being ‘held’ in bridging accommodation. They are living there temporarily, and we don’t want to see them in bridging accommodation for any longer than is necessary. We continue to work at pace to support Afghan families into homes of their own, so that they can settle into their local communities, feel safe and independent, pursue education, and rebuild their lives in the UK.The government is providing £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million in new cash for local authorities, which will go towards increasing the level of support available and overcoming key barriers in accessing the housing system and employment and a £250 million expansion of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help councils to source homes to house Afghans currently in bridging accommodation.This new, generous package of support comes in addition to the existing support available for people on the ACRS and ARAP schemes, including access to welfare and the right to work, as well as access to public services. A dedicated cross-government casework team, made up of Home Office Liaison Officers and DWP staff, are based in hotels and work alongside local authority officials to provide advice to Afghans, including information on how to rent in the private sector, support people find jobs and English language training. The move from hotels into settled accommodation is in the best interests of families and individuals and will enable them to benefit from the security of housing and long-term consistency of public services. This includes schooling, and the freedoms of independent living that only suitable non-hotel accommodation can provide Data on the average length of stay in bridging accommodation is not available for publication.Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next release due for publication in August 2023.

Treasury

Taxation: Inflation

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting (a) Income Tax rates and (b) Personal Allowances in line with inflation.

Victoria Atkins: The UK's Personal Allowance (PA) is high by international standards – one of the most generous in the OECD and the most generous in the G7. Thanks to the PA, around 30 per cent of individuals do not pay tax.Due to the significant real term increases to the PA, it is estimated there will be over 3 million people taken out of tax by 2023-2024, compared to the threshold rising in line with inflation from 2010-2011.The income tax higher rate threshold is still high enough to protect the vast majority of people from paying the higher rate of income tax. Around 80 per cent of taxpayers pay tax at the basic rate.

Income Tax

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the aggregate income tax deducted at source by companies from (a) annual payments, (b) interest and (c) alternative finance arrangements at either (i) the basic rate and (ii) a reduced rate in each of the last six financial years.

Victoria Atkins: HMRC does not hold data separately for income tax deducted at source by companies from annual payments, interest and alternative finance arrangements.

Sunscreens: VAT

Amy Callaghan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of removing VAT from sunscreen on the level of incidences of (a) melanoma and (b) non-melanoma skin cancer.

Victoria Atkins: Under the current VAT rules, sun protection products are subject to the standard rate of VAT. High-factor sunscreen is on the NHS prescription list for certain conditions and therefore is provided VAT free when dispensed by a pharmacist. While we keep all taxes under review there are no plans to make changes. Representations on changes to the VAT system will be considered through the normal fiscal event process.

Schools: Uniforms

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to remove VAT on school-specific uniform items in the UK.

Victoria Atkins: Under the current VAT rules, all children’s clothing and footwear designed for young children who are less than 14 years of age, including school uniforms, attract a zero-rate of VAT, meaning that no VAT is charged on the sale of these items. In addition, certain school uniform items may also benefit from a zero rate of VAT irrespective of size. For instance, garments which bear a prominent logo, crest or badge identifying them as part of the official uniform of schools catering exclusively for children under 14 years of age can be zero-rated. The UK is one of only two countries among the 37 OECD member countries to maintain a VAT relief for children’s clothing, which costs the Exchequer £2 billion per year. Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. Whilst we have no current plans to extend the existing zero rate, we nevertheless keep all taxes under review.

Probate

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how long did HMRC take on average to communicate its assessment of (a) the capital gains tax liability and (b) inheritance tax liability of applications associated with probate cases in each of the last 12 months.

Victoria Atkins: HMRC regularly monitors and assesses the processing times for inheritance tax and all other tax applications as part of its business operation, enabling the department to address any bottlenecks or delays and to improve performance, which may include reallocating resources. Through these measures, HMRC aims to enhance efficiency. HMRC publishes monthly and quarterly performance data on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports  https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

NHS Trusts: VAT

Karin Smyth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's policy paper VAT and the Public Sector: Reform to VAT Refund Rules, published on 27 August 2020, whether he plans to implement changes to the VAT regime for NHS (a) trusts and (b) foundation trusts considering establishing wholly owned subsidiary companies.

Victoria Atkins: The 2020 policy paper published by HM Treasury set out the case for a Full Refund Model for public bodies currently eligible for VAT refunds under Section 41 of the VAT Act, to simplify the VAT system for public bodies and enhance public sector productivity. Please find the published paper on the GOV.UK website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-and-the-public-sector-reform-to-vat-refund-rules.We are continuing to consider the practicalities of any reform and no decisions have been made on whether to proceed. We will update on next steps in due course.

Property: Valuation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with the Valuation Office Agency on the criteria used to assess the value of a property.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help improve the transparency of the work of the Valuation Office Agency.

Victoria Atkins: Under the Local Government Finance Act 1988, the VOA has a duty to maintain a Rating List for each Billing Authority. In doing so, it assesses non-domestic properties to determine the Rateable Value (RV) of each. The RV represents the annual rent a property would achieve if let on the open market at a valuation date which is set in law. The Government’s Review of Business Rates sought views on ways in which the valuation system for business rates could be improved. As set out in the Government’s 2021 Interim Report, there was strong support for retaining the existing basis of RV. The Government’s final report concluded its review of the business rates system, committing to greater transparency for ratepayers in two phases. The first phase sought to deliver more transparent guidance for customers and agents, to support a clearer understanding of how valuations are reached. These changes were delivered ahead of the April 2023 commitment, and included improvements to online guidance and advice. The second phase will ensure further transparency for ratepayers, providing more details of how the rateable value is calculated earlier in the process.The VOA recently consulted stakeholders on this issue, presenting several options for how greater transparency might be achieved, balancing the need for additional disclosure against the need to protect data and confidentiality. The consultation invited responses from a broad range of ratepayers and representative groups. The Government is currently analysing the feedback received.

Sunscreens: VAT

Amy Callaghan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to review the level of VAT charged on sunscreen products.

Victoria Atkins: Under the current VAT rules, sun protection products are subject to the standard rate of VAT. High-factor sunscreen is on the NHS prescription list for certain conditions and therefore is provided VAT free when dispensed by a pharmacist. While we keep all taxes under review there are no plans to make changes. Representations on changes to the VAT system will be considered through the normal fiscal event process.

Childcare: Tax Allowances

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claimants made claims under the Tax Free Childcare Scheme in each financial year since 2017; and how much funding was claimed under the scheme for children aged (a) under one year old, (b) one year old, (c) two years old and (d) three to four years old in each financial year since 2017.

John Glen: Statistics relating to Tax-Free Childcare account use are published quarterly in “Tax-Free Childcare Statistics” on the gov.uk website. The latest publication, containing information up to March 2023 is here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-free-childcare-quarterly-statistics

Public Expenditure: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to uprate the Welsh government’s overall capital borrowing cap in line with inflation.

John Glen: The Welsh Government is well-funded to deliver its devolved responsibilities via the Block Grant, receiving a funding premium of around 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in England. In addition to its Block Grant funding, the Welsh Government already has access to generous borrowing powers to enhance their capital investment and there remains significant headroom within their overall capital borrowing limit of £1 billion. These capital borrowing powers sit within a wider Fiscal Framework agreed with the Welsh Government. A review of this framework is triggered if the Welsh Government’s funding premium falls to 15%.

Education: Expenditure

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Table 6.6 of the Public Expenditure - Statistical Analyses 2022, published July 2022, if he will provide a breakdown by (a) Department group and (b) segment programme of the outturn spend on education for (i) 2017-18 to (ii) 2021-22.

John Glen: Expenditure for the Education COFOG function, further broken down by department and by subsegment, covering the periods 2017-18 to 2021-22 are available from the OSCAR annual transparency release:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oscar-annual-release-november-2022.

Department for Business and Trade

Clean Steel Fund

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of the clean steel fund.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12th July 2023, UIN 192830.

Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme on energy intensive industries.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: My department’s Energy Intensive Industries team carries out ongoing engagement with key energy intensive sectors to ensure that the schemes in question continue to provide appropriate financial support for the most affected companies. We look for ways to take into account the feedback we receive to ensure we deliver the schemes in the most beneficial way. This includes a review of the analysis that underpins the eligibility criteria for the measures and we intend to complete this review in 2026.

Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses and what proportion of eligible businesses were participating in the Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme as of 1 July 2023.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As of 1 July 2023 there are 317 companies participating in the Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme. My department’s Energy Intensive Industries (EII) team carries out ongoing engagement with the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) and directly with trade associations and companies to help ensure that as many of those companies that are eligible are aware of the scheme and able to apply for it. Until individual companies undertake the application process it is not possible for government to make a decision on whether they are or are not eligible.

Foreign Investment in UK and Overseas Trade

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of trade and investment hubs in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, and (c) Northern Ireland at increasing (i) trade and (ii) investment.

Nigel Huddleston: Department for Business and Trade (DBT) nation hubs are dedicated to working with local businesses to help increase international exports; to attract more investment; and to realise the benefits of Free Trade Agreements. In quarter 1 2022/23, DBT hubs hosted many export promotion events, including tradeshows and meet the buyer activities. Officials continue to roll-out DBT services across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including the UK Export Academy.Nearly 8,000 jobs have been created by Foreign Direct Investment projects across the nations in the last financial year. Planned investment activity, such as the Northern Ireland Investment Summit will continue to support investment across the nations.

Re-employment

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of fire and rehire practices on the labour market.

Kevin Hollinrake: The government previously asked the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service to collect evidence into how dismissal and re-engagement is being used by employers. This report was published in June 2021 and is available from https://www.acas.org.uk/fire-and-rehire-report.The government is taking action to address the practice of dismissal and re-engagement. We have consulted on a draft Statutory Code of Practice and are currently analysing responses. The Code sets out employers’ responsibilities when seeking to change contractual terms and conditions of employment and seeks to ensure dismissal and re-engagement is only used as a last resort.

Ceramics: Manufacturing Industries

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate her Department has made of the impact of the ceramics industry on gross domestic product in the last five years.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Business and trade estimates that the ceramics industry was worth £1.1 billion in 20211. Over the last five years, the ceramics industry has represented 0.1% of UK GDP2. 1- ONS Annual Business Survey accessed here2- ONS Gross Value Added accessed here

Clay: Quarrying

Wendy Morton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she last visited a clay quarry.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has not visited a clay quarry in her current role. However, officials within the Department for Business & Trade are in regular contacts with firms and trade associations in the construction sector, including those that produce or use mineral products such as clay.

Bricks: Manufacturing Industries

Wendy Morton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has visited any brick manufacturers since 7 February 2023.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Secretary of State for Business and Trade, has not visited any brick manufacturers since 7 February 2023. However, officials within the Department for Business & Trade are in regular contacts with firms and trade associations in the construction sector, including those that manufacture bricks.

Housing Improvement: Fraud

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help reduce economic loses caused by rogue builders operating in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector.

Kevin Hollinrake: The domestic repair, maintenance, and improvement (RMI) sector is a vital part of the construction industry. It is one where genuine concern exists about consumer protection. The Government is committed to ensuring that we have a high-quality and professional construction industry and works with the industry and Local Authority trading standards, to improve standards of competence, consumer protection and redress, and to act against rogue builders.  The Department consulted last year on proposals to make alternative dispute resolution mandatory in the home improvements sector as part of a broader attempt to strengthen consumer rights in problematic sectors. We are now working with the Ministry of Justice to help inform and support their policy development on the use of mediation as an integrated part of the justice system.

Prime Minister

Abduljalil al-Singace

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Prime Minister, whether he raised the case of Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain.

Rishi Sunak: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 December 2022, PQ 102991.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Electricity: Housing

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the number of households that will require an electricity upgrade by the Distribution Network Operators to enable the electrification of heat and transport.

Andrew Bowie: Government has not made such an estimate, which would depend on variables such as size of heat pump, power of electric vehicle charge point and existing supply capacity, where comprehensive data is not available. Domestic supplies can be upgraded if required, for example by installing a larger fuse, and the use of smart energy management solutions such as electric vehicle smart charging can also help reduce the maximum demand of a property to facilitate the installation, and use, of low carbon technologies.

Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy on the delivery of large infrastructure projects.

Graham Stuart: The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy recognised that net zero requires a major change in how industry makes goods and consumes energy. The Government is providing more than £2 billion of funding to decarbonise energy-intensive industries, which includes part of the £20 billion programme of investment in carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS).The Government is also committed to creating demand for low carbon products, using measures such as green procurement for public projects, and product standards. The recent consultation on addressing carbon leakage risk will help inform government in how it can make further progress in delivering key infrastructure projects.

Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy on the creation of skilled jobs and businesses.

Graham Stuart: The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy is creating new job opportunities through the deployment of low carbon infrastructure, and is supporting the skills transition so that the current and future workforce benefit from the creation of new jobs. The Government estimated that over 250,000 green jobs could be created across the UK. For example, our commitment to support deployment of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage could help to create 50,000 jobs alone in the UK by 2030.

Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy of the delivery the switch of 20 terawatt hours of the UK Industry’s energy supply from fossil fuel sources to low carbon alternatives by 2030.

Graham Stuart: Since the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, Government has increased ambition in the Net Zero Strategy, aiming to replace around 50 TWh of fossil fuels per year in industry by 2035.The Government provides support for fuel switching through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), and the Industrial Fuel Switching Competition (IFSC). Additionally, Government launched the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund in April 2022 and continues to support early movers in industry.The Government will launch a Call for Evidence this year, seeking industry and other stakeholder views on overcoming barriers to increased and accelerated industrial electrification.

Energy Charter Treaty

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2023 to Question 191204 on Energy Charter Treaty, whether a formal risk assessment on the UK's membership of the Energy Charter Treaty is held by his Department.

Graham Stuart: The Government has continued to assess the impact on relevant Government objectives throughout the Energy Charter Treaty modernisation process. It continues to assess the evolving situation and will keep the House informed of relevant developments.

Energy Intensive Industries: Government Assistance

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to promote the availability of energy support schemes to eligible energy-intensive enterprises.

Amanda Solloway: The Department has worked with relevant trade associations and energy suppliers to promote awareness amongst energy trade and intensive industries (ETIIs), held engagement sessions to ensure that businesses understand their eligibility and the application process, and published guidance specific to ETIIs on GOV.UK. The Government has a communications strategy for the Energy Bills Discount Scheme targeted at ETIIs and are working to ensure that as many customers as possible receive the support they are entitled to.

Energy Bills Rebate: Business

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of eligible businesses have claimed support under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) started in April 2023 and will remain in place until April 2024. The Government will shortly be publishing information on the support offered to date under the scheme.

Energy Intensive Industries: Redundancy

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of energy costs for energy-intensive industries on the number of redundancies between June 2022 and June 2023.

Amanda Solloway: Responsibility for the business effects of energy costs lies with the Department for Business and Trade. Officials there carry out ongoing engagement with trade associations and directly with individual businesses to ensure they stay well informed of the ongoing and potential consequences of high energy costs including on employment.

Energy Bills Rebate: Energy Intensive Industries

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including energy-intensive businesses in the (a) horticulture, (b) pig and (c) poultry farming sectors in the Energy Bills Discount Scheme.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme review assessed qualitative and quantitative evidence and contributions from businesses and stakeholders on sectors that may be most affected by energy price increases, based on energy and trade intensity (ETII). To qualify for ETII support, the sector has to be in the top 20% for energy intensity and top 40% for trade intensity. The horticulture, pig and poultry farming sectors do not meet these criteria. The Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide a baseline discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including the horticulture, pig and poultry sectors, until March 2024. The unit discount is capped at £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.

Biofuels: Subsidies

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether subsidies for biomass will be included under the contracts for difference scheme after 2027.

Graham Stuart: Biomass is eligible for the current Contracts for Difference Scheme for specific technologies including anaerobic digestion (above 5MW), landfill gas, sewage gas, advanced conversion technologies, energy from waste with combined heat and power and dedicated biomass plants with combined heat and power. Allocation Round 5 (AR5) opened in March 2023 for new projects with delivery years of 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28 for pot 1 technologies and 2026/27 and 2027/28 for pot 2 technologies.

Energy Bills Rebate: Care Homes

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department has taken to (a) advertise and (b) place information in the public domain on the use of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (Alternative Funding) for care homes.

Amanda Solloway: The Department used a range of approaches to advertise the eligibility of partially or wholly self-funded care home residents for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding. This included press notices, paid social media advertising targeting the family members and friends of those in care, roundtables with care sector stakeholders asking them to assist with advertising the scheme, and a request for local authorities to write to care homes in their area to encourage residents to apply for their support.

Energy Bills Rebate: Travellers

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) Gypsies and Travellers living on roadside camps and (b) itinerant liveaboard Boaters can access the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Amanda Solloway: Officials are still working to determine if there is a robust method for Gypsies and Travellers and itinerant liveaboard boaters to provide proof that their caravan or boat is their main or sole residence. This is necessary so they can receive the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding support whilst protecting public funds from fraud. The Government is working to resolve this issue and will communicate any decision with stakeholder associations who represent these households when it has been made.

Energy Bills Rebate: Boats

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent progress his Department has made on providing itinerant liveaboard boaters with alternative fuel payment support.

Amanda Solloway: Officials are still working to determine if there is a robust method for itinerant liveaboard boaters to provide proof that their boat is their main or sole residence so they can receive energy bills support whilst protecting public funds from fraud. The Government is working to resolve this issue and will communicate any decision with stakeholder associations who represent these households when it has been made.

Energy Bills Rebate: Boats

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department plans to take to enable itinerant liveaboard boaters to provide proof of address for the purpose of obtaining alternative fuel payment support.

Amanda Solloway: Officials are still working to determine if there is a robust method for itinerant liveaboard boaters to provide proof that their boat is their main or sole residence, so they can claim energy bills support whilst protecting public funds from fraud. The Government is working to resolve this issue and will communicate any decision with key stakeholder associations who represent these households when it has been made.

Energy Bills Rebate

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the number of people that have not been able to apply for alternative fuel payment support because they could not provide proof of address.

Amanda Solloway: The Government do not hold information that would enable us to make a reasonable estimate.

Energy Bills Rebate: Boats

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has held recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on establishing a way of providing proof of address for itinerant liveaboard boaters who have not been able to obtain alternative fuel payment support.

Amanda Solloway: Officials have consulted stakeholder representatives during the continued policy development of the energy affordability schemes to understand whether there is a robust method for itinerant liveaboard boaters to provide proof that their boat is their main or sole residence so they can claim this support. Officials are continuing these discussions and will update relevant stakeholders with further information once any decision has been made.

Hydroelectric Power: Electricity Generation

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will list the (a) dates and (b) locations when his Department has met with representatives from SSE to discuss the (i) Coire Gas pumped hydro storage scheme and (ii) cap and floor revenue mechanism for electricity generation from pumped hydro storage.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will list the (a) dates when and (b) venues where he has met representatives from Drax to discuss the Cruachan Dam extension pumped storage hydro scheme.

Andrew Bowie: Ministers and officials meet with energy companies including SSE on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of department issues, including storage.

Energy: Meters

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 192438 on Energy: Meters, whether her Department expects the smart meter roll-out to reach all households before the radio teleswitching service is turned off.

Amanda Solloway: The Government expects energy suppliers to upgrade households with Radio Teleswitching Services to smart meters by 31 March 2024, so they can continue to benefit from multi rate tariffs. Households with Radio Teleswitching Systems should engage their energy suppliers to arrange their smart metering installations as soon as possible to help facilitate this. Households will need to liaise with their energy supplier to understand the default tariff arrangements for those without smart meters after 31 March 2024, as this will vary according to individual circumstances.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when her Department will respond to an email from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton, dated 30 May, on electricity and gas rates for people in social housing.

Amanda Solloway: I wrote to the hon. Member on 27 June about electricity and gas rates for people in social housing.

Energy: Prices

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will launch a consultation before the summer recess on options for a new approach to consumer protection in the energy markets from April 2024 onwards, including on the introduction of a social tariff.

Amanda Solloway: As set out in the autumn statement, Government is exploring the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024, as part of wider retail market reforms. The Government will set out its proposals in due course. Up to then, in response to higher prices, the Government have put in place the Energy Price Guarantee and provided significant additional support to help those who need it most through this winter and into 2023-24.

Energy Charter Treaty

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department have made of the potential impact of the European Commission's announcement on the 7 June 2023 of a coordinated withdrawal by EU member states from the Energy Charter Treaty on the Government's policy on withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty.

Graham Stuart: On 7 July 2023 the European Commission announced its proposal for a coordinated EU withdrawal. The European Union does not have a bloc-wide position regarding the ECT. The UK is carefully monitoring developments of all Contracting Parties, including the EU, as it assesses the situation surrounding modernisation.

Food: Manufacturing Industries

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help large food manufacturing companies reduce high energy consumption.

Graham Stuart: The Government is reviewing what levers can be introduced to help organisations to be more energy efficient. The Energy Efficiency Taskforce was launched to help achieve our target of reducing UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030. The IETF, which supports industries including the food and drinks sector to cut energy consumption by investing in more efficient technologies, has been extended. Pending business case approval, Phase 3 will launch in early 2023. Some food manufacturing companies are supported in reducing energy costs through the Climate Change Agreements Scheme and the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance Programme.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data his Department holds on the number of Microgeneration Certification Scheme certified installers who have been found not to meet the required installation standards since the commencement of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Graham Stuart: To be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme installers must be Microgeneration Certification Scheme certified and members of a Consumer Code to provide assurances and protections to consumers. 79 installer accounts are currently suspended by Ofgem, some of which are under investigation and may be reinstated later. Accounts can be suspended for a variety of reasons in relation to potential scheme non-compliance and not all are related to issues with standards.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department worked on tackling fraud and error in the benefit system between (a) January–June 2020, (b) July–December 2020, (c) January–June 2021, (d) July–December 2021, (e) January–June 2022, (f) July–December 2022 and (g) January–June 2023.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Employment on 4 July 2023, Official Report, Col 734, how many extra staff have been hired to tackle fraud and error in the benefit system between (a) January–June 2020, (b) July–December 2020, (c) January–June 2021, (d) July–December 2021, (e) January–June 2022, (f) July–December 2022 and (g) January–June 2023.

Tom Pursglove: Tackling fraud and error is a key priority for the DWP, and every member of staff has a role to play and undertakes mandatory annual fraud and error training. The department’s approach to tackling fraud was set out in the fraud plan [Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], which included the commitment to increase our counter fraud teams and create a new targeted case review capability. The department’s annual report and accounts, published on 6 July 2023 [DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], shows how we are using our resource to tackle fraud and error.

Children: Maintenance

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department issues on whether a Scottish Higher National Certificate is advanced education for child maintenance purposes.

Mims Davies: The Department publishes the Child Maintenance Decision Makers’ Guide on the gov.uk website. The guidance provides a list, although not exhaustive, along with information regarding advanced and non-advanced education and training. This information can be found here. A Scottish National Certificate is equivalent to a National Higher Certificate (HNC) and counts as advanced education. Child Maintenance payments cease when a child leaves full-time non-advanced education (non-advanced means up to A level or higher, or NVQ or SVQ Level 3 and below). Courses of degree level and above, Diploma of Higher Education, Higher National Certificate, Diploma of Higher Education or, NVQ and SVQ Level 4 and above, count as advanced education.

Poverty: Older People

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of trends in poverty levels among people aged over 50 who have become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement.

Mims Davies: It is not possible to produce a robust assessment of trends in poverty levels among people aged over 50 who have become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic.The Covid-19 pandemic impacted the sample size and quality of data collected during the first year of the pandemic. DWP did not publish lower-level data in the 2020/21 HBAI publication and advises caution when making comparison with previous years. Discontinuities and additional biases introduced by the changes to data collection during the pandemic become more evident when the statistics are disaggregated into smaller groups, such as people aged over 50 who have become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic.

Question

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) maintaining Local Housing Allowance rates at the rates those agreed for 2020-21 and (b) increasing Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local rents in April in the (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23, and (iii) 2023-24 financial years.

Mims Davies: In April 2020 the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was increased to the 30th percentile of market rents. Since then, LHA rates have been maintained at these levels, Total DWP housing expenditure on claimants subject to the LHA was £8.2 billion in 2020-21 and £8.8 billion for 2021-22 and was forecast to be £9 billion in 2022-23 and £10 billion for 2023-24 at Spring Budget 2023. Previous estimates have been made of the costs to DWP housing expenditure of increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of market rents in specific years. They were as follows: i) £140 million for 2021-22ii) £300 million for 2022-23iii) £700 million for 2023-24 These estimates were based on the economic assumptions and forecasts available at the time of their production.

Department for Transport

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of rural bus services.

Mr Richard Holden: We recognise that the bus sector, particularly in rural areas, continues to face a number of ongoing challenges. That is why we have announced a long-term approach to support and improve bus services with an additional £300m to support services from July 2023 until April 2025. All local transport authorities have completed and published Bus Service Improvement Plans, determining what the needs of their rural residents are and how to best meet these. Shropshire County Council has been awarded £1,490,492 under Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP+) in 23/24 and has been allocated a total of £2,547,982 in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to help maintain bus services. Additionally, Shropshire County Council receives £512,447 every year through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) to subsidise bus services.

Railways: Tickets

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of officials from his Department taking steps to promote the Rail Delivery Group's consultation on railway ticketing offices.

Huw Merriman: This is an industry-led process. Individual train operators are managing this process and will provide station-specific details as part of their consultations.

Railways: Tickets

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of ticket office closures at train stations on rail users.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider all equality related needs and make this clear in their consultation.No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future. This will include assisting those who need additional support and cannot or do not want to use digital tickets.

Railways: Tickets

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on the potential closure of ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: Together with industry we want to modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to more visible and accessible roles around the station. Department officials regularly engage with industry including Rail Delivery Group to understand their plans.

Railways: Money

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that train operating companies accept cash at (a) catering outlets on trains and (b) ticket purchases at railway stations.

Huw Merriman: As modern ticketing and payment methods are rolled out more widely, we will continue to ensure that all passengers who need to use cash, or do not have access to a smartphone or the internet, can buy a ticket and have access to help and advice from a trained representative. When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers. This includes ensuring that passengers can easily buy the right ticket for the journey they want to make, with consideration of the product range available at the station and what support is available to help with purchase. Catering arrangements are managed by individual train operators.

Railway Stations: Stockport

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of Avanti West Coast staffing levels at the ticket office at Stockport railway station.

Huw Merriman: Staffing levels at stations is a matter for the operator. Each operator manages its staffing levels in order to meet its requirements and any other responsibilities.

Railways: Tickets

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with National Rail operators on (a) facilitating the purchase of extension tickets for Freedom Pass holders and (b) the application of D50 discounts for tickets through ticket machines at stations where ticket offices are set to close.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with Network Rail on the potential merits of amending the conditions of travel to allow passengers to purchase tickets later in their journeys when (a) they cannot purchase the correct ticket through a ticket machine at their departure station and (b) no ticket office is available.

Huw Merriman: We recognise there are a wide range of fares and tickets offered to passengers, and that not all products are offered consistently online or at ticket vending machines. Industry is looking to expand digital ticketing options and make them even easier for passengers to use through upgrades to ticket vending machines and digitisation of more tickets and processes. When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours (including closures), the train operating companies are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers including tickets. Passengers will not be expected to travel out of their way to buy a ticket and will be able to buy en route or at their destination.

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero emission buses had been allocated Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding as of 10 July 2023; and how many zero emission buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road as of 1that date.

Mr Richard Holden: The Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme provided funding to 16 local transport authorities in England outside London. The scheme will fund up to 1,307 zero emission buses, though this is subject to change as projects are progressed by local transport authorities. Of the buses funded, an estimated 748 have been ordered and 68 are on the road. We are committed to supporting the introduction of at least 4,000 zero emission buses and achieving an all zero-emission bus fleet across the UK. Since February 2020, across the UK an estimated 4,233 zero emission buses have been funded, of which an estimated 2,464 have been ordered and 1,604 are on the road. These numbers are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information and are therefore subject to change.

High Speed 2 Line: Compulsory Purchase

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any land which was purchased by HS2 under a compulsory purchase order has been subsequently disposed of.

Huw Merriman: No land that has been acquired by HS2 Ltd on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport under a compulsory purchase order has been subsequently sold.

Roads: Standards

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of road conditions.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department takes the condition of our roads very seriously, and is providing £5.5 billion of highways maintenance capital funding for English local highways authorities over this Parliament. It is also working with the British Standards Institute and the Transport Research Laboratory to develop a new standard for assessing road condition. This will help authorities identify, assess, and deal with road defects, including potholes.

Railways: Tickets

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to help support (a) blind and (b) other people to purchase rail tickets following the closure of ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers who are disabled; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in their consultation. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future. This will include assisting those who need additional support and cannot or do not want to use digital tickets.

Railways: Tickets

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish details of all proposed rail ticket office (a) closures and (b) reductions in opening hours.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he was first made aware of proposals to close a majority of staffed railway ticket offices in England.

Huw Merriman: Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the experience for passengers by moving staff out from behind the ticket office screens to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles and additional support to those who need it. We have been clear that no currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of this reform. To propose any changes to the opening hours, or the closure of ticket offices, train operating companies must follow the process set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement regulates what train operators can do in terms of fares, ticketing and retailing across the network; it is available on the Rail Delivery Group’s website. As part of this process train operators are required to put notices up at the relevant stations advising passengers of the proposals and what any changes could mean for them.

Southeastern Trains: Rolling Stock

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Southeastern on new rolling stock.

Huw Merriman: In late 2022, Southeastern went to the market for expressions of interest to replace its ageing Networker fleet at the end of its lease. This could be through refurbishing or cascading existing rolling stock, new build, or a combination of both. An invitation to pre-qualify will be issued to interested suppliers shortly. Any replacement rolling stock will be subject to a successful business case required to support the investment decision and ensure value for money.

Driverless Vehicles

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to regulate the use of autonomous vehicles.

Jesse Norman: The Government paper “Connected & Automated Mobility 2025: realising the benefits of self-driving vehicles in the UK” sets out government’s plans to support the development and deployment of safe self-driving vehicles in the UK. This includes proposals for a comprehensive regulatory, legislative and safety framework.The Department is committed to these plans and will introduce primary legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Active Travel: Urban Areas

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of whether he will meet his target to increase the proportion of short journeys that are walked or cycled in towns and cities to 46% by 2025.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s most recent assessment of this was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022, a copy of which is available in the House Libraries. The Department will provide an updated assessment in its next report to Parliament in due course.

Southeastern Trains: Tickets

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department held discussions with Southeastern on ticket office closures before 1 December 2022.

Huw Merriman: The Department has regular meetings with Southeastern, as it does with all train operating companies, to discuss a wide range of topics. Southeastern’s proposals around ticket offices, like those of the rest of the industry’s, represent a real opportunity to update and improve the way they deliver for today’s customers in the most efficient and effective way.

Transport for London: Finance

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on Transport for London’sfinances.

Mr Richard Holden: The Secretary of State for Transport last met the Mayor of London on 29 November 2022. In addition I met yesterday (12 July) with Deputy Mayor Seb Dance and senior TfL officials to discuss their plans to put TfL onto a sustainable financial footing.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Pakistan: Development Aid

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the funding entitled Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Education Sector Programme.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the funding entitled Punjab Education Support Programme Two.

Leo Docherty: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Sector Programme (KESP) and The Punjab Education Sector Programme II (PESP II) ended in 2022. KESP has supported 155,837 children (including 69,702 girls) since 2016 to gain a quality education, and indirectly benefitted all 3.4 million primary school children enrolled in public schools in the province. At £430 million, PESP II was the UK's largest bilateral education programme and reformed and transformed delivery of education in Punjab, providing equitable access to better quality education across the province. Full project completion reports are available through the Development Tracker on GOV.UK.

Development Aid

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the funding entitled Enterprise and Assets Growth Programme.

Leo Docherty: The Enterprise and Assets Growth Programme (EAGR) financed facilities that have supported over a million jobs including 600,000 jobs for women, and has supported nearly 850,000 beneficiaries to access financial services in Pakistan. This programme was designed to give micro, small and medium enterprises improved access to appropriate financial services, resulting in higher economic benefits for poor and marginalised groups. EAGR will also contribute to the UK government commitment to respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change by making green investments in Pakistan.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Afghan nationals have been relocated from bridging hotels in Pakistan to the UK in 2023.

Leo Docherty: As of 6 July, 45 individuals eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) have been relocated from Pakistan to the UK in 2023.

Palestinians: Health Services

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) support and (b) protect Palestinian healthcare services in the occupied West Bank.

David Rutley: We strongly condemn all forms of violence and incitement to violence. Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty to ensure and maintain public health to the fullest extent possible. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need. The UK's annual contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) also helps to fund (among other activities) access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees.

Africa: Renewable Energy

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the funding for the Renewable Energy and Adaptation Climate Technologies (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund).

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Renewable Energy and Adaptation to Climate Technologies (REACT) programme's aim was to incentivise the private sector to invest in low-cost clean energy and adaptation technologies to raise incomes and help climate adaptation. Its effectiveness was assessed in its Project Completion Report, which scored the programme an 'A', denoting that it had achieved its expected aims. It supported a number of early-stage companies now attracting commercial investment, helped attract $150 million of matching investments, and paved the way for mini-grids being accepted as part of the rural energy mix in Tanzania.

Sierra Leone: Elections

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to support a peaceful resolution following the elections in Sierra Leone on 24 June 2023; and whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his counterpart in Sierra Leone, (b) the Economic Community of West African States, (c) the African Union and (d) his counterparts in other countries on (i) security and (ii) other issues following those elections.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO regularly discusses good governance, rule of law and the importance of free, fair and peaceful elections with the Sierra Leonean Government, opposition and key stakeholders. The Foreign Secretary has highlighted these messages, including with the President and opposition leader, during and since his visit in March 2023. Throughout, the UK has been clear that violence has no place in a democracy and has supported a peaceful conclusion to the electoral process.Officials in the British High Commission Freetown and in London are working with international partners, including the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and country partners, to follow up on the elections.

Cameroon: Social Media

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2023 to Question 189210 on Cameroon: Armed Conflict, whether he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on social media use in support of (a) separatist and (b) anti-separatist forces.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 June 2023 to Question 189210 [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-06-13/189210].

Cameroon: Detainees

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Cameroon on the potential impact of (a) releasing people detained in relation to (i) protests and unarmed political organisation and (ii) advocacy prior to the outbreak of armed violence in autumn 2017 on peacebuilding and (b) arbitrary detention on security.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government has not had any conversations with the Cameroon Government specifically on the release of prisoners in relation to the conflict in the North-West and South-West regions. We are committed, however, to supporting a peaceful resolution to this conflict. I [Minister Mitchell] made this clear in meetings with Cameroon's Prime Minister and Secretary General to the Presidency during my visit in April 2023.

Cameroon: Military Aid

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to help support the government in Cameroon with (a) arms stockpile management and security, (b) the registration and marking of military equipment and (c) other support to help prevent the diversion of arms to armed separatist groups implicated in human rights abuses.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is committed to supporting regulated and responsible arms transfers and preventing the diversion of arms to terrorists and criminals. We provide cooperation and support to states on the management of Small Arms and Light Weapons, through various mechanisms, such as the Arms Trade Treaty's (ATT) Voluntary Trust Fund, which Cameroon can apply to for assistance as a State party. The UK will raise this at the ATT's conference of State Parties in August.

Development Aid: Climate Change

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if it remains his Department's policy to spend £11.6 billion on UK International Climate Finance between April 2021 and March 2026.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government remains committed to the £11.6 billion and it is our intention to deliver it over the timeframe that was originally envisaged.

Sierra Leone: Security

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the security situation in Sierra Leone following the recent election.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: It was inspiring to see Sierra Leoneans vote last month and the security situation has been largely calm following the announcement of results. As a friend of Sierra Leone, the UK noted irregularities in the electoral process, in particular the tabulation of votes. On 28 June, the British High Commission coordinated a press statement with international partners raising this and calling for people to refrain from violence and exercise restraint. It remains important political leaders and the judiciary allow issues to be addressed fairly.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

International Game Technology: National Lottery

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of International Game Technology's adherence to modern slavery rules in its supply chains in relation to the running of the National Lottery.

Stuart Andrew: Key suppliers in the running of the National Lottery must complete an annual supplier assessment on their compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This includes International Game Technology (IGT), which supplies gaming system technology and hardware to Camelot, the current National Lottery operator.IGT has confirmed in its most recent assessment that it did not have any convictions, breaches or risks in relation to modern slavery. Additionally, IGT publishes an annual Modern Slavery Statement, available here.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former Armed Forces personnel work for his Department as civilian staff.

Dr Andrew Murrison: This information is not held in the format requested. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collect or hold information on all veterans and cannot say where veterans of the Armed Forces take up employment post service. The MOD does not routinely maintain a record of an employee's prior employment.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many eligible principle Afghan nationals were relocated through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme from December 2022 to May 2023; and how many applications were received in that time period.

James Heappey: Between December 2022 and May 2023, 15 Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) eligible principals and 49 of their family members were relocated to the UK. Over this same period 4,129 unique ARAP applications were received.The ARAP scheme is not, and never was, intended as a general resettlement scheme for all Afghans. As such the vast majority of the applications received between the above dates will be ineligible. In total, we have received over 141,000 applications, of which 3,511 have been granted eligibility.

Ministry of Defence: Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department produced a ministerial response under the write round process to the Department for Education's review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Government has been clear that it is very concerned about reports of inappropriate materials being used to teach relationships and sex education (RSHE). It has brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance as a result, including conducting a public consultation as soon as possible. The statutory guidance clearly states that the guidance will be reviewed every three years from first teaching (September 2020) and so the decision to review the guidance does not require collective agreement. The Secretary of State for Education will seek collective agreement to the consultation documents through a write-round process, before publishing the consultation in the autumn. This process is not yet underway. As part of the review, an expert panel has been established to advise the Secretary of State on what topics should and should not be taught in school and the introduction of age limits. This will provide clear guidance for teachers about when certain topics can be addressed. The Oak Academy is producing a suite of materials to support teachers to create age-appropriate lessons plans and ensure that they have access to appropriate materials. The Government is determined to make sure RSHE teaching leaves children equipped to make informed decisions about their health, well-being and relationships, in a sensitive way that reflects their stage of development. The Government expects new statutory guidance to be released in the coming months. It will then be subject to public consultation to conclude by the end of the year, coming into statutory force as soon as possible after that.

Ministry of Defence: P&amp;O Ferries

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 192709 on 10 July 2023, what was the cost to the public purse of payments made to P&amp;O Ferries for (a) support of operational movement services and (b) business travel between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023.

James Cartlidge: Between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023, the Ministry of Defence made payments of nearly £92,000 directly to P&O using ePC cards primarily for freight movements, some £235,000 by the National Movement Coordination Centre (Army) for operational movements, and some £164,000 was spent through GBT, the MOD’s contracted travel management company, primarily for business travel.  The Department will continue to use P&O Ferries where there are robust operational or technical reasons for doing so. Some routes are solely serviced by P&O Ferries and may offer the only option for our strategic movement requirements.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2023 to Question 188371 on Armed Forces: Pensions, for what reason military service undertaken before the age of 18 does not fall under the band of brothers principle.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The only Armed Forces Pension Scheme in which service before the age of 18 is not taken into account when calculating the value of the pension is the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75) for Regulars, which has existed in various forms since 1914, and which was closed to new entrants on 5 April 2005, on the introduction of the modernised AFPS 2005. In AFPS 2005 and the subsequent AFPS 2015, membership begins on the individual’s first day of paid service, irrespective of age upon joining the Regular Armed Forces.  The origin of the different ages from which service in the ranks is reckonable is not readily determined. Age 18 appears to be long-standing, representing the start of adult service and reflecting earlier entry being through an apprentice-type route. The requirement of 22 years is again of very long-standing. It is likely that this was associated with a concept that age 40 represented the normal limit for a career in the ranks.

Dalton Barracks

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Defence Infrastructure Organisation are taking to increase housing delivery at Dalton Barracks, Abingdon.

James Cartlidge: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation continue to work with the Local Authority to release Dalton Barracks in line with the adopted Local Plan and subsequent Supplementary Planning Document for a high quality, sustainable new community founded on garden village principles.

Ministry of Defence: Official Hospitality and Travel

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish his Department's ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings transparency data for the period from January 2023 to June 2023.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Transparency data for Defence is published on GOV.UK. January to March 2023 will be published in due course.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many families living in service family accommodation are on (a) the fuel subsidy scheme, (b) this Department's fuel supply and (c) civilian fuel supply.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence has 47,787 Service Family Accommodation properties, of which 4,348 are on the Department’s fuel supply. 43,439 are on civilian fuel supply, of which 548 are on the fuel subsidy scheme.

Ministry of Justice

Driving Offences: Speed Limits

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has provided on whether driving licences need to be surrendered by people who receive single justice procedure notices for speeding fines.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice has not issued guidance on the surrender of driving licences. The Police are responsible for issuing the single justice procedure notice for traffic offences and they removed references to surrendering the licence from their notices when the legislation was commenced.

Criminal Proceedings: Databases

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 188262 on Criminal Proceedings: Databases, what recent estimate he has made of when the external data catalogue will be published.

Mike Freer: We plan to complete the first phase of the data catalogue project by the end of September 2023. The objectives of this phase are to identify tooling that meets our requirements, including for an external view of the catalogue, and to pilot with an initial HMCTS service. If this completes successfully, we will plan roll-out to include more datasets and internal users in the first instance, with external to follow.

Crown Court: Standards

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 188261 on Crown Court: Standards, to provide this data by each Crown Court.

Mike Freer: The a) mean and b) median length of time taken from (i) receipt at Crown Court to main hearing, (ii) main hearing to completion and (iii) receipt at Crown Court to completion for all offences can be found in the attached table. Timeliness data broken down by Crown Court are not available prior to 2014.The latest published data is available to March 2023 and shows that timeliness estimates at the Crown Court continue to increase. This was a result of cases completing including trials impacted by the Criminal Bar Association action and in some cases, the suspension of jury trial during the pandemic.Table (xlsx, 98.2KB)

Magistrates' Courts: ICT

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 188260 on Magistrates' Courts: ICT, how many and what proportion of defendants have appeared without legal representation in magistrates’ courts where the Common Platform has been used by (a) court and (b) the alleged criminal offence of the defendant in each of the past three years.

Mike Freer: Common platform first started receiving criminal cases in September 2020.The total number of defendants whose cases have been handled on Common Platform is 456,597 of which 231,223 had no legal representation recorded on the case. It is important to note that this data includes Single Justice Service Cases.The attached spreadsheet breaks down defendants by a) court and b) by criminal offence and are for the period September 2020 – June 2023.Table (xlsx, 262.4KB)

Law Centres: Closures

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of Law Centres that have closed in England since 2010; and how much funding his Department has provided to Law Centres since 2010.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice does not hold direct information on the number of law centres in England or those that have ceased operating.Since 2015/16, the Legal Aid Agency has paid £57.2m to law centres across England and Wales, in respect of Civil and Criminal Legal Aid work. We are unable to provide the information from 2010 onwards as Legal Aid Provider Statistics data is only available from 2015/16 onwards.Further, the Government has invested over £25m in grant funding for the not-for-profit sector including law centres since 2014.In March 2023, the Government announced a new £10.4m Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support (IOTLS) grant. This grant runs from July 2023 until March 2025 and is being administered by the Access to Justice Foundation on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. The grant has been awarded to 59 organisations across England and Wales, including 15 law centres. This funding will enable organisations to provide legal advice and support to help people resolve their problems as early as possible.The IOTLS grant builds on the previous legal support grants including the £4.8m Help Accessing Legal Support grant which ran from September 2022 until June 2023 and supported 52 front line organisations including 14 law centres.Between April 2020 and March 2021, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, organisations were awarded Government emergency grant funding totalling £5.4m via the Covid-19 Specialist Advice Service Scheme. Of the total amount, £3m was distributed to law centres via the Law Centres Network. This funding enabled organisations to continue providing critical services to the most vulnerable and prevented the closure of a number of law centres.

Secure Training Centres and Young Offender Institutions: Pepper Spray

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to introduce PAVA incapacitant spray into (a) Young Offender Institutions, (b) Secure Training Centres and (c) Secure Children’s Homes.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what advice his Department has received on the use of the introduction of PAVA incapacitant spray in (a) Young Offender Institutions, (b) Secure Training Centres and (c) Secure Children’s Homes.

Damian Hinds: Following the roll-out of PAVA spray to the adult male estate, for use where necessary in response to serious disorder, HM Prison and Probation Service is examining the case for making it available to young offender institutions in the youth estate. This includes detailed consideration of the medical and legal implications, including any age-related factors.Full account is being taken of the evaluation of implementation in the adult male estate. As with any potential safety measure, all available evidence is being assessed, looking at the many complex considerations, to enable an informed decision to be taken.PAVA spray is not being considered for use in Secure Training Centres or Secure Children’s Homes.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 188259 on Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review, what the average sentence was for people convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent by (a) Crown Court and (b) the defendant’s (i) gender, (ii) ethnicity, and (iii) age in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information from 2010 to 2022 on the number of defendants prosecuted for offences under Section 18 of Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (offence code 00501), in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool.The attached tables provide a breakdown of convictions for the offence contrary to Section 18 of the Offences Against Person Act 1861 (causing grievous bodily harm with intent) within the last three years, where it has been treated as a principal offence by Crown Court (table 1), and in all courts by information on gender (table 2), ethnicity (table 3), and age (table 4).Detailed offence data at Crown Court are only available in the Court Proceedings Database from 2020 onwards. Therefore, figures for all tables have been limited to 2020 onwards in order to give a complete view of each year presented.Table (xlsx, 24.4KB)

Witnesses: Video Recordings

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of recordings under s.28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in each year for which data is available.

Edward Argar: Data provided to HM Courts and Tribunal Service show the number of recordings for Pre-Recorded Cross Examinations under section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999) in each year from 2020 onwards, as below:YearNumber of Recordings202042420212,11720221,9012023 (to May 23)1,102 Caveat - This data refers to those recordings made at Crown Court in the previous three years.Data has been sourced from the technology supplier.This data may include test recordings.Witnesses may have more than one recording.Recording data prior to 2020 was manually kept and is unreliable, automated reporting was introduced in 2020 for efficiency and quality control.

Witnesses: Video Recordings

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the total number of recordings under Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 that can be stored at any one time.

Edward Argar: HM Courts and Tribunal Service has the capacity to store all Pre-Recorded Cross Examinations made under Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999).

Catalytic Converters: Theft

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions have been bought under the Theft Act 1968 for the theft of catalytic converters in England over the last 5 years; and if he will list the number of prosecutions made in each year.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions for theft from a motor vehicle in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2022, under HO offence code 04510.However, whether this was specifically theft of a catalytic converter is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings Database. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Sexual Offences: Legal Opinion

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the Government offering free and independent legal advocacy to complainants of sexual violence and abuse.

Edward Argar: We have commissioned the Law Commission to undertake a thorough examination of the law, guidance and practice relating to the use of evidence in prosecutions of sexual offences, including an exploration of the merits of independent legal advice and representation. This is due to complete in Autumn 2024; we will await the Law Commission’s findings before taking any decisions relating to this issue, including any estimations of potential cost.In the interim, we have already taken several steps to introduce additional safeguards regarding requests for victims’ personal information. Through the Victims and Prisoners Bill, we are introducing duties on policing to only request third party material that is necessary and proportionate, and to provide full information to victims about why this material is being requested. This complements guidance updated by the CPS in May 2022 to ensure that prosecutors' requests for access to victims’ therapy notes is pursuant to a reasonable line of enquiry, as well as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act stopping unnecessary and intrusive requests for access to victims’ and witnesses’ phones or digital devices.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the civil service headquarters occupancy data, updated on 6 July 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of occupancy rates on his Department's performance during June 2023.

Mr Alister Jack: The work of the Scotland Office is conducted in a number of different locations, be that at our London office; the UKG hub in Edinburgh; or engaging with stakeholders and communities across Scotland. Occupancy data for our London office is not an indicator of departmental performance. You can find out more about the work of the department and our delivery against our Priority Outcomes in our Annual Report.The Scotland Office is committed to fully utilising the benefits of flexible working while ensuring that we use our buildings effectively and maximise the advantages of in-person collaboration. It should be noted that hybrid working arrangements are not new and the Scotland Office, like most departments, works on a basis of a ratio of desks to staff.Occupancy data for our London office is published weekly on Gov.UK. The published data is for Departmental HQ buildings only and inferences about the wider workforce should not be made. The data does not capture employees working in other locations.